Seminar in Linguistics (400-0-20)
Topic
Computational Methods for Social Understanding
Instructors
Robert Frederick Voigt Jr
Meeting Info
Annenberg Hall G01: Fri 1:00PM - 3:00PM
Overview of class
In this course we will explore modern methods for social understanding in computational linguistics. As contemporary NLP engineering progress has become dominated by uninterpretable neural models, a major question arising for computational sociolinguists and computational social scientists becomes whether and how these models can be used to generate insights for linguistic understanding of social phenomena. We will read, discuss, and build upon recent work addressing this challenging question with a focus on (and critical eye toward) methodological innovations leveraging embeddings, neural networks, and large language models.
Registration Requirements
Graduate standing or consent of instructor; ideally, coursework at the level of LING 334 or equivalent
Learning Objectives
Students in this course will gain knowledge on contemporary computational methods applied to social and linguistic questions, and a familiarity with contemporary work in this area. The course will have a strong focus on practical applications: students will engage with open-source code repositories and conclude the course with a project replicating or adapting these methods.
Teaching Method
Lecture, discussion, hackathons, and student led presentations
Evaluation Method
Self-evaluation; assignments include brief reading responses and a final project
Class Materials (Required)
No required texts (all will be provided by instructor)
Class Materials (Suggested)
N/A